Presentation of the online laboratory in measurement technology: Automated implementation and evaluation of engineering online internships using the example of measurement technology
On 10 March 2022, project team members Silvio Hund (M.Sc.) and Maik Wolf (M.Eng.) from Professor Mathias Rudolph (all F ING) had the opportunity to present the concept and current status of their engineering online laboratory in the field of measurement technology (sub-project C - FAssMII) in a 20-minute presentation at the Workshop on E-Learning 2022.
At the beginning of the presentation, Silvio Hund explained the importance of laboratory experiments in basic engineering training in measurement and control technology against the background of the limited number of laboratory workstations for students. The solution approach on which the online laboratory is based, consisting of hardware and software components, was then presented. The presentation was rounded off with an outlook on upcoming tasks, such as the didactic preparation of the experimental content required for the online lab.
In the ensuing discussion, Silvio Hund made it clear that the online laboratory, which is currently under development, also utilises the trend in recent years to establish computer science as a cross-sectional discipline in mechanical engineering and thus also in measurement technology: HTML, CSS and special JavaScript libraries, as well as Node.js as the basis of the server application and function modules for device control (Raspberry Pi) are used.
In response to a participant's question about the degree of complexity of the user interface, Silvio Hund and Maik Wolf emphasised "that the complexity of the controls of the virtual image of the laboratory device should be retained as far as possible so that the students continue to have the feeling of interacting with a real device from professional practice". In this way, the learning effect with regard to the handling of measuring devices can be maintained, as has been recognised in similar projects.
Students with an interest in application-orientated programming or an affinity for issues at the interface between measurement technology and computer science should actively participate in the (further) development of the online laboratory by Professor Mathias Rudolph and his team. Corresponding calls for project work etc. will be published here in due course.
As part of the project "Feedback-Based E-Assessment in Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering" (FAssMII), four e-assessments have been developed and implemented at HTWK Leipzig since August 2021.
The Workshop on E-Learning has been organised annually for 18 years, alternating between HTWK Leipzig and Zittau-Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. This year, the format was reorganised for the first time as a teaching-research project and implemented completely virtually in the online platform WorkAdventure.
